Einstein magazine's cover story for the Summer/Fall 2021 issue.
I was happy to see the cover story of the Summer/Fall 2021 issue, “The Hospitalist Will See You Now,” not least because I also went to college with Dr. [William] Southern. However, I was disappointed to see an incorrect statement about board certification. Pediatric hospital medicine [PHM] was recognized as the newest pediatric specialty by the American Board of Pediatrics [ABP] in 2015 and the American Board of Medical Specialties in 2016. The first PHM board exam was given to over 1,400 applicants in 2019. I was the inaugural chair of the ABP’s PHM sub-board and am the proud holder of certificate No. 1.
Daniel A. Rauch, M.D. ’91 FAAP, SFHM
Professor of Pediatrics, Tufts University School of Medicine, and Chief of Pediatric
Hospital Medicine, Tufts Children’s Hospital, Boston
As a board-certified pediatric hospital medicine physician, I was disappointed to see the incorrect information in your article about the training of hospitalists. On page 22 it states that the ABIM, ABFM, and ABP provide certifications, but hospital medicine is not yet a board-certified specialty itself. In pediatrics, it is and has been now for a few years. There are fellowships that are now required in order to sit for those subspecialty boards. Many of us were able to be grandfathered in to take the boards based on the number of hours we had worked as hospitalists, but that is no longer an option. I took both the General Pediatrics and Pediatric Hospital Medicine boards, and while we don’t all agree it’s a necessity, it is reality. Please make sure the info you share in your articles is up to date.
Rebecca Tenney-Soeiro, M.D. ’01 M.S.Ed.
Pediatrician, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Editor’s Note:
In the original version of “The Hospitalist Will See You Now” (cover story, Summer/Fall 2021 issue), we erred in stating that hospital medicine “is not yet a board-certified specialty.” While that is true for hospitalists who tend to adult patients, we should have noted that pediatric hospital medicine has been recognized since 2015 as a board-certified specialty.
The longest article in your 70-page mailing is a 12-page infomercial for hospitalists. I am an Einstein graduate and have practiced medicine for 42 years as an internist, nephrologist, geriatrician, and critical-care doctor. I see patients at nursing homes, dialysis units, office, and hospital. I would be pleased to submit a rebuttal article to your infomercial. It is now commonplace to emphasize patient-centered care as the goal of medicine. Perhaps we should not dismiss the patient’s first question, “Where is my doctor?”
Isaac Gorbaty, M.D. ’74
Tarzana, Calif.
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